December 23rd

"'See, I am coming soon!'"  Revelation 22:7a

while we are waiting,

may we be the outsiders

who lift up the broken

as we tend to those wounds

ignored by the pious privileged.

while we are waiting,

may we be the wealthy

who are willing to adjust

our spending habits so the 

hungry, the homeless, the hopeless

might be given new life.

while we are waiting,

may we be in a hurry

to help all those whose 

weary patience has worn thin

because we are too thick

thinking that our primary calling 

is to simply wait.  

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

December 22nd

"Its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there." Revelation 21:25

at the front desk,
Pete is overwhelmed
by the number of
folks
insisting they have
guaranteed reservations
for the
suites
on the top floors;
a crowd is clustered
around the concierge
desk,
trying to get Mike's
attention (with
at least $50 folded in
their palms)
to get tickets
for the streetcar which
will take us down
the see-through gold
streets;
we are double-checking
the floor plans at the
website, trying to
figure out exactly
where
we will place the
antiques stored back
home;
meanwhile,
you
and the maintenance
crew are busy removing
all
the bars and locks
from the gates, pouring
so much water
on the hinges, that
when they rust, no
human efforts will
ever swing them
shut;
then,
wiping your hands
on the bandana pulled
out of your
back pocket,
you smile to yourself,
'there. now no one can be
turned
away.'

(c) Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 21st

"But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be." Luke 1:29

really?

you didn't just sit down

suddenly in the chair,

stunned beyond words.

you didn't run down to the kitchen,

yelling, "Mom!  Mom!" 

and then in circles when

you couldn't find her.

no searching for the hidden

speaker or looking in the closet

to see if your little brother

was holding a microphone

pranking you with that voice

which no one else could hear.

"much perplexed"

is the best you could

come up with in that

gobsmacked

out-of-the-blue

life changing -

no,  that life-shattering moment?

no wonder we are left

pondering 

what sort of person you 

are

until you start singing

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @ Thom-Shuman

December 20th

 "Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:14-15

take a moment and

open a book, any book,

look at the page before

your eyes (any page, not

any special one), and what

do you see?

words 

that's it, simply words.

so maybe, just maybe,

in this book of life we

worry so much about, 

it's not our names written

on all those pages, but words.

and not just any words,

but one,

written over and over and over

so many times we lose count.

that one Word

the Word which was at the beginning,

the Word which called everything

including us into life

that Word which became flesh

that Word which told death and hell

to throw wide its doors so it could 

come out and remind us that 

the most important word 

in God's vocabulary is simply

grace

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 19th

"On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. Isaiah" 11:11

most days
we do our best
to ignore what is happening
in parts of the world which,
to be honest, mean nothing to us,
but on that day,
you will hold out your hand
to draw others into the circle
we thought was reserved
for only us.
a lot of days
we seem more concerned
about lights in the night sky
than we do about those living
in the shadows of rejection,
but on that day,
you will reach out to lead
the forgotten to the best
seats at your table of grace.
just about every day
we do a pretty good job
hiding who we truly are,
but on that day,
bring us -
the fearful,
and the faithful,
the outraged
and the hopeful,
the favorites
and the outcast -
home.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

December 18th

"Praise him with clanging
   cymbals;
praise him with loud
   clashing cymbals!"  Psalm 150:5

in the gentle knock
of the door or a tug
on the jingle bells
tied to the doorknob
of folks being delivered
meals they need in the
loneliness of the season.
in the quiet of the moment
where a Sensory Santa sits
on the floor with two kids
on the spectrum, playing with
toys just right for them until first
one, then the other, and finally the
white-bearded gent breaks
the silence with their smiles.
in the soft swish, swish of
the Golden’s tail against
the rocker of her forever friend
who stares into the land known
only to them, but they know they
do not journey alone
everything, everything
praises God!

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

December 17th

"The people who walked in darkness 

   have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness —
   on them light has shined." Isaiah 9:2

we keep hoping for

just the right recognition, 

we keep jockeying 

for the positions of power

where (because no one else 

seems up to the task) we can

finally change everything that

has been dumped into that

handbasket heading you know where,

but

all you want us to do

is to be that flashlight which

can show those huddled in fear

the way to hope, or at least

be a candle which flickers

when everyone else has snuffed

theirs out to save them for

another day.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman